1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to systems and methods for printing, and, more particularly to a printing device using a position-coding pattern.
2. Description of the Related Art
Portable computers are becoming increasingly popular in our society. While such computers can process information and display the results on a display screen, they must be connected to a portable printer to print the results on paper. Generally, computers are connected to a network printer via a network connection.
Currently, network printers can be generally separated into two categories: laser printers and inkjet printers. Laser printers operate by charging parts of a sheet of paper with static electricity. When toner is applied, it will adhere to the parts of the sheet charged by the static electricity. A heating process is then used to make the toner stick to the sheet. Inkjet printers, on the other hand, operate by passing an inkjet head over the surface of the paper. The inkjet head sprays ink according to a pattern stored in digital form in a memory.
In their current forms, both inkjet and laser printers tend to be relatively bulky and inconvenient to carry, making them ideal for portable use such as with a portable computer. U.S. Pat. No. 5,927,872 describes a system and method for printing an image on a paper using a handheld printer. The '872 patent discloses a printer that detects its change in position by comparing successively registered images of the surface of the paper. In particular, a user first marks the position where the image is to be printed and then moves the printer over the paper to print the image. The relative positions of various sub-images depends on the position where the user first initialized the printing. Thus, if the user lifts the printer during printing, the printer may not be able to print subsequent images at the correct position